410 slug gun

[Matt3357]

Ok before I get flamed I just want to say that I do not plan on using this for deer (illegal in Illnois anyway), just as a project/plinking/varmint/small game gun.  I have an older H&R 410 that we never shoot any more that I have decided to experiment with.  I have done some reading on 410 slugs and about how poor their accuracy is with factory ammo and how poor the factory ammo is (light weight slugs, bad sizing).  Well from what I have gathered, most 410 shotguns have a tight choke on them not allowing for good accuracy with a slug, with that being said, most slugs are undersized to allow them to be shot through any choke causing them to be inaccurate.  Now here is my plan.  Cut the choke off of the 410 and clean it up and reblue it, that way I have a true cylinder bore 410.  The problem is with bullet selection.  410 slugs have very poor BC and therefore lose a tremendous amount of energy as they go down field, I had the idea to use hard cast .41 magnum SWC lead bullets in a 410 case instead of a slug.  I have never read about any one doing such a thing and thought if I resized them down to about .409 they would seal the bore and be a nice sized chunk of lead down range.  What do you guys think? am I crazy?  Do I need to resize (tolerances were stated as .410 to .411)? Can you buy .41 mag lead hollow points?  What would happen with a jacketed bullet?  I know I could use a smaller bullet in a shot cup, but I'd rather use a bigger bullet.  Please share your thoughts and opinions.


Thanks,
Matt

[PHATINJUN]

Do a search for 450 Mongo Pretty much same thing only you would use the 41/410 smooth bore instead of the 45/410 rifled bblKurt

[guvnor]

Ive been thinking of doing the same thing to my 410 pardner as a matter of fact.  I think it would be cool to have a "410 slug carbine" with a 19 inch barrel.  It would probably make a good short range small game/varmint gun...and if you take down the barrel you would have a great "camp gun" you could easily store in a large backpack. 

I though about bringing it to a gunsmith, but the cost of having the barrel cut and crowned and a new bead put on would probably cost as much as the gun itself. 

Is cutting down a shotgun barrel a "do-it-yourself" job?  I probably have all the tools I need but im afraid of messing something up or having it come out like crap. 

[Matt3357]

I have never done it myself, but I know a lot of the other guys have on the forum.  It is easy to cut down, even with a hacksaw, and there is a method of crowning it in the FAQs.  The tricky part would be to put the bead on.  I would start by reading the FAQs, there might be something in there related to installing a bead or even a front sight that you could use. 

I think I have decided to ship mine off to Mike Orlen in Massachusetts to have it threaded for chokes and then take a barrel liner and have it threaded like the chokes and make a rifled choke for it.  Might wring out some more accuracy. 

Matt